Doodad

As a matter of fact it will be a southern breakfast appetizer for dinner. I will have fried ham with a red eye jus, the cheese grits batons and vietnamese egg cake done as a western omelet.

I am working on a dish for Christmas dinner that is tempura grits. Cooked and cooled into a pan, then cut into batons and battered. I have no idea if it will work, but I am going to try.

A little more southern touch would be to pipe the pimento cheese into celery halves or make cheese straws as pimento cheese.

I saw on Richard's blog he opened. The menu looks good. It is right near my daughter's school so we will be going for sure. I want to try the hanger burger and a krispy kreme shake.

I have seen plastic wrap used in commercial steamers with no ill effects. Also, we have a quick tomatillo salsa recipe from a Mexican friend that involves microwaving them in a bag which is obviously boiling at the end.

He looks like the aussie character in House.

I knew there had to be some trick coming as a few of the dishes were completely unsuited for a 30 minute challenge. I can't remember the first one I saw, but I said to myself no way can you cook that in that amount of time.

These are local and good as well. Carried by whole foods too. http://www.loganturnpikemill.com/

I would have made vietnamese style egg cake and cooked it in the half egg shell

Even if you are smoking at some point it is best to wrap the whole thing in several layers of foil. I smoke mine until it hits the saturation point for smoke (a couple of hours) and then wrap it and continue on the grill or in the oven. Comes out much more tender than if left naked. Your times seem okay, but something was amiss. I always count on an hour per pound and add one for vague smoker temps or weather conditions. Another reason I often rely on the oven to finish.

Yeah and it is fun to go to the mill and tour around. Nothing wrong with their products.

Cathead biscuits and sawmill gravy. Make you slap yo mama.

Need ideas and advice please. I have a package of VERY thin duck breast from the Korean grocery. I know they will cook fast, but what should I make with them? I thought maybe a pho style soup that the boiling broth would cook them or use them as a sort of wrapper around something else?

I like to mix chocolate and green hot sauce for ice cream. Grosses my wife out so there is an added benefit.

Shepherd's Pie in individual ramekins. We do this quite a bit. As long as you are making a whole stew of any kind it is easy to portion out. Pipe the mashed potatoes, seal with foil and pack the whole lot of them in a large freezer bag.

Dammit Bill, I'm just a chef, not a miracle worker! ← The yeast is dead, Jim.

we used the hosta in our garden for the entree one night.

See I am in Atlanta and grew up with low country style cajun foods. I am definitely checking out congris.

I tastes exactly the same and the texture is not an issue. As far as gumbo, I had a guy tell me about microwave roux this week. Never tried it my self.

We eat jambalaya alot. It and fried rice are our favorite clean out the fridge usage. So, I had a thought one night about that. And it works great. Make jambalaya like fried rice. No worries about rice texture or the thick and thin of the "sauce." I make the tomato base with the usual spices and ingredients and browned sausage and chicken. I cook rice ahead of time so it has a chance to cool. Then, at dinner time, I stir fry the trinity, add the rice and then the sauce and shrimp like it was a stir fry. It comes out great.

Jambalaya (the designed leftover user) and brunswick stew are easy favorites. Stir fry is next on the list if the ingredients can stand up to it. Risotto. I have leftover grilled flank steak and roast turkey tonight. I am thinking about making wraps using bok choy as the roll and baking them in a soy based sauce.

All I can think of is Borat. Didn't he serve the cheese to Bob Barr?

Probably. However a good use of leftovers is important in a small household. I find it impossible to cook for just one meal for two. ← I find it difficult as well. Just goes against my grain as I brown bag every day. My wife gets fed at work (country club) so leftovers effect me more than her except for Last Call night. A dinner with no leftovers would probably be sandwiches of some type or salad.

Left overs are great when re-invented into a new dish. We are empty nesters now but I have been very good at making new dishes from the previous nights meal for years. ← Can you elaborate with some examples? I'm always open to new ideas. ← I made gumbo last night with a series of leftovers. Think jambalaya, quiche, stir fry, casserole. Anything that was designed to use up leftovers.

That is how I was taught. Plus, puree would just be too smooth and not "gumbo-y" if you know what I mean.